Azerbaijan purchases Sky Dew missile-detecting balloon from Israel
ArmInfo.Azerbaijan purchased a Sky Dew high-altitude balloon system from Israel, which is equipped with an advanced early warning system for missiles and aircraft.
According to Turan, citing local media, Sky Dew's mission is to detect cruise missiles, drones and other advanced airborne threats flying at low altitude and provide early warning. For this purpose, the balloon is equipped with a long-range AFAR radar.
The balloon is able to provide continuous surveillance for several days and is capable of tracking up to 500 targets with a detection range of more than 250 km. It is also capable of avoiding ground clutter, is especially useful for detecting low-flying threats.
The upper limit of the balloon's altitude far exceeds the limits of ground-based radars, providing a much greater visibility range to the horizon.
The Sky Dew balloon is one of the largest of its kind and was developed by a joint venture between the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency. Israeli media write that the sensitive radar located on the airship is not only relatively economical in resources, but also durable and does not require expensive maintenance.
Data transmission between the Sky Dew balloon and its ground station is carried out via secure fiber optic data links.
Last November, it became known that Azerbaijan would purchase additional Barak MX air defense systems from Israel, designed to protect against airborne threats such as aircraft and missiles. According to Defense Industry Europe, the deal will be worth $1.2 billion. According to the source, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) previously demonstrated the capabilities of the Barak MX in Azerbaijan; the tests included multiple launches of interceptors of various versions of this system.
Barak MX is a modular mobile air defense system capable of protecting against missiles of various modifications, as well as against airborne objects such as airplanes, helicopters and UAVs. The system includes three types of interceptor missiles with different ranges: up to 35 km, up to 70 km and up to 150 km. All components of the Barak MX ground system can also be integrated on trucks and deployed to temporary operating sites.
According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2018-2022, Azerbaijan was one of the key importers of weapons from Israel (Azerbaijan's share in Israeli arms exports is 9.1%).